An excellent example of corporate denial:
An excellent example of corporate denial:




What is the denial?
That americans will still be buying SUVs at $4.00 a gallon.Originally Posted by lunchbox
Seems like there is even a little bit of history on that question.
The general denial I speak of is that there are so many companies that believe their own shit. Our people are our assets - until layoff time. Customers are number one - till it comes to customer service. Et cetra.





You know what I'm buying if gas hits $4 a gallon? A bicycle.
Former SCJ now in rehab.





Can I ride on the handlebarsOriginally Posted by doc-catfish
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Some Douchebag: "[Pimp C] 12:43 am: its true we got to stick together the black people on SW CK you is teh condoleeza of SW"





Actually there's some truth in the assessment that, no matter how expensive gasoline gets, that there will still be some Americans buying SUV's. However, those Americans will be buying Porsche Cayennes, Lexus RX400H etc, not Ford Explorers ! The rich get richer ...




I don't think it's denial. SUV's don't get much worse mileage than a van or a pickup. Those are the markets it stole consumers from. There are still going to be plenty of people who need the space but don't want the alternatives.Originally Posted by Melonie
EDIT: and can't afford luxury




The fact is most Americans that think they are rich are really living way outside their means to begin with. The truely rich that wont be impacted by higher gas prices is a small percentage.
Why would anyone spend $50 to $100 a week on gas when it could be put to better use?
If gas prices do not level off it is denial. This country is headed for an econmic down turn. To think that the level of SUV buyers will stay the same is wishful thinking.
And if you dont believe me read the stats...
http://sev.prnewswire.com/auto/20050...7092005-1.html
AutoVIBES: Nearly 60 Percent of Vehicle Shoppers Say Gas Prices Have Either Changed Their Minds or Strongly Influenced Vehicle Purchase Decisions
I think about it but not to the extent that Im willing to drive an econobox.Originally Posted by Vamp
I just got back from a long one day trip. My Escalade averaged 19.5 mpg on that mostly highway drive. Not bad but Im hopeful that GM will accelerate the DOD to the Escalade. My lease is up early next year. I have a boner for the just released '07 Escalade especially with the dubs+2. But I may negotiate a 1 year extension to my current lease so I can take advantage of the promised '08 DOD which should put me over 20 mpg on a road trip. And despite what the owners manual says, Ive learned that the Slade runs just fine on regular rather than premium fuel which saves me 20 cents per gallon.
FBR
Once again I have embraced my addiction and have put off the moral dilemma to another day.
You are absolutely right.Originally Posted by Melonie
Lets say that I drive 10,000 miles / year in my gas hogger hummer that gets 10 miles per gallon. My fat ass is using 1000 gallons per year. If it goes up to $5 / gallon from $3, I am only out another $2,000 / year.
$2,000 / year is what is spent on Starbucks Coffee...and the Tart each day. The price of fuel for the rich is pocket change relative to the price of a $50,000+ car.
Or, take the $275,000,000,000 spent on the Iraq war and divide that by the 130,000,000 returns filed and we are paying close to $2,100/ taxpayer for the war. Therefore, ...............what's the issue? $2,000 is nothing.
Gas on..
Holy cow. Great link Sitri. These two really got me :
The War In Iraq Costs
Instead, we could have fully funded world-wide AIDS programs for
27
years.
Instead, we could have ensured that every child in the world was given basic immunizations for
91
years.
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or we could have just given each citizen in iraq 9 milion dollars and saved the change...



About $10,000 to each Iraqi, but your point stands.
I suspect that one thing that might be strongly affected by rising gas prices is real estate prices. Housing prices in residential-only exurbs will probably tank, as people want to move closer to work. Saving, say, $10/day in gas to get to work & back really adds up quickly, around $2,500/year. If you take that as a Net Present Value of around, say, $50,000, it logically should trash the exurban housing prices by somewhere in that range... except that of course, there are a lot of other factors (declining demand could push it even lower, but on the other hand, retirees may find that exurban houses are a great bargain and that their needs can be met locally or with less car-based travel). Of course, this is assuming one person/house... in reality, we're probably talking an average of two person/job/car situations, so the savings would be more like $5,000/year.
Likewise, housing closer to employment sources will probably increase in value, or if the housing boom crashes, not decline as markedly. Housing in large cities close-by to convenient public transit may increase in value sharply. Perversely, while the automotive sector might take a hit generally if gas prices increase significantly, bus manufacturers may do quite well.
I suspect that gas prices have to at least double before we get major shifts in demographics/practices/etc.

FBR why not email Caddy and see if they will cancel your lease. After all GM is in some trouble $$$$ wise!

By the way I did they got back to me inside a week!





I agree with this assessment. However, besides the issue of gasoline cost for commuting long distances, you have additional issues such as the rising fuel oil/natural gas cost for home heating, electricity cost (which is typically a function of gas or oil prices), delivery costs to local stores etc. which will disproportionately increase the cost of the suburban lifestyle.it logically should trash the exurban housing prices by somewhere in that range... except that of course, there are a lot of other factors (declining demand could push it even lower, but on the other hand, retirees may find that exurban houses are a great bargain and that their needs can be met locally or with less car-based travel). Of course, this is assuming one person/house... in reality, we're probably talking an average of two person/job/car situations, so the savings would be more like $5,000/year.
Likewise, housing closer to employment sources will probably increase in value, or if the housing boom crashes, not decline as markedly. Housing in large cities close-by to convenient public transit may increase in value sharply. Perversely, while the automotive sector might take a hit generally if gas prices increase significantly, bus manufacturers may do quite well.
I suspect that gas prices have to at least double before we get major shifts in demographics/practices/etc.
I also agree that these rising costs may indeed force some suburban homeowners out of their suburban homes ... particularly so if their ARM mortgage payment takes a $200+ per month upward jump later this year or in 2007 ... even more so if local property taxes take a major jump in order to cover local share of medicaid benefits, gov't employee retirement underfunding etc. This in turn will throw more suburban houses on the market at exactly the time when rising interest rates and higher energy costs are disqualifying more and more would-be buyers. This will send an increasing number of people towards seeking apartments much nearer to their place of employment, with housing in such 'desireable' areas being priced at levels beyond the budget (and future creditworthiness) of your average former suburban homeowner.
As I opined in other threads, 'the rich get richer, the poor get medicaid and an array of other social welfare benefits, and the middle class gets stuck in the middle'. As to retirees, the smart ones will sell out and head for different states with lower taxes and lower energy costs !
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